Family of Southie murder suspect hires high-powered lawyer

Author(s):

The family of Edwin Alemany, the career criminal charged in three attacks in South Boston including the brutal slaying of Amy Lord, has retained high-profile defense attorney Jeffrey Denner.

Denner said today that he’ll explore an insanity defense for Alemany, 28, who is undergoing a mental evaluation at Bridgewater State Hospital to determine his competency to stand trial.

“I feel there’s a real disconnect with what’s being charged and the man I met,” Denner said.

“The court itself feels there are some real issues with the case … When a court says a man should be evaluated for competence, if you’re not competent, that suggests you don’t have the cognitive ability to understand the world around you. The fact he’s being evaluated for competence suggests there are other medical issues that need to be explored, and that’s what we intend to do.”

Denner said Alemany’s family is paying for the services of his legal team, even though in court records Alemany has been described as indigent.

Authorities said during a 19-hour period beginning July 23, Alemany attacked three women in South Boston, including stabbing two of them. Boston police said Lord, 24, was kidnapped near her Dorchester Street apartment, forced to drive to several ATMs and withdraw money, and then brutally stabbed. Her body was found dumped at the Stony Brook Reservation in Hyde Park.

Yesterday, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office announced they had DNA evidence linking Alemany to Lord’s murder.

Alemany also faces charges in an attack on a woman on Old Colony Avenue before Lord’s abduction and the stabbing of a woman on Gates Street early the next morning.